Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan, 15355, Republic of Korea.
Department of Neuroscience, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jul 23;14(1):16940. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-63150-4.
Air pollution and heavy metal exposure are emerging public health concerns. Prenatal exposure to air pollutants and heavy metals has been implicated in the development of congenital heart disease (CHD). However, the relationship between exposure to airborne heavy metals and CHD has not yet been investigated. Therefore, in this large population-based study, we investigated the association between air pollutants, including airborne heavy metals, and the risk of CHD using national health insurance claims data from South Korea. Data regarding 1,129,442 newborns and their mothers were matched with air pollutant levels during the first 8 weeks of gestation. In the five-air pollutant model, we found significant positive correlations between prenatal exposure to sulfur dioxide (SO; odds ratio [OR] 6.843, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.746-8.149) and cadmium (Cd; OR 1.513, 95% CI 1.187-1.930) and the risk of ventricular septal defects in newborns. This study highlights the association between prenatal exposure to air pollutants, including airborne heavy metals, and an elevated CHD risk. Further research is essential to validate and expand these findings, with the ultimate goal of enhancing public health outcomes.
空气污染和重金属暴露是当前备受关注的公共卫生问题。有研究表明，胎儿在子宫内暴露于空气污染物和重金属会增加先天性心脏病（CHD）的发病风险。然而，目前尚未研究空气中重金属暴露与 CHD 之间的关系。因此，在这项基于人群的大型研究中，我们利用来自韩国的国家健康保险索赔数据，调查了包括空气中重金属在内的空气污染物与 CHD 风险之间的关系。研究将 1,129,442 名新生儿及其母亲的数据与妊娠前 8 周的空气污染物水平相匹配。在五项空气污染物模型中，我们发现胎儿暴露于二氧化硫（SO）（比值比 [OR] 6.843，95%置信区间 [CI] 5.746-8.149）和镉（Cd）（OR 1.513，95% CI 1.187-1.930）与新生儿室间隔缺损风险之间存在显著正相关。本研究强调了胎儿暴露于空气污染物（包括空气中的重金属）与 CHD 风险升高之间的关联。进一步的研究对于验证和扩展这些发现至关重要，最终目标是改善公共卫生成果。
